blamebrampton: 15th century woodcut of a hound (Default)
blamebrampton ([personal profile] blamebrampton) wrote2009-06-26 07:46 pm

With due respect to ...

... those of you who are mourning him, I am probably going to bite the next person who tells me that Michael Jackson was a revolutionary figure in the fight for equality by African Americans. I hasten to add that this has so far been three in real life and double the number of media foik: my flist has been a bastion of sanity.

Aesthetic irony aside, it belittles genuine revolutionary figures. And I am not even talking about political giants like Dr King; there were many entertainers who walked a far more difficult path earlier and with more grace and charity, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Paul Robeson, Josephine Baker, Sammy Davis Jnr and Nina Simone.

I'm all for people loving the heroes they choose, but I would love a bit of perspective at times like these. And perhaps a little sense of history.

Flistees who are just missing the singing and dancing, I apologise for intruding on your sad day. 

[identity profile] tnumfive.livejournal.com 2009-06-26 11:22 am (UTC)(link)
Great entertainer? Definitely.

Pioneering activist? Not so much, no.

I was really upset when I heard the news. He did amazing things for the music industry. Today's artists owe a lot to Michael.

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2009-06-26 03:01 pm (UTC)(link)
He was good at what he did, but yes, what he did was pop music. Rosa Parks didn't get this sort of coverage, though at least she was able to die of old age and with dignity ...